Facilities: Villanova University recently opened a new Academic Resource Center designed to accommodate student-athletes' academic-support needs. The center features private and semi-private areas for tutoring sessions, a computer-equipped study hall and conference rooms designed for lectures and team study sessions. "The Academic Resource Center is just another statement about our commitment to academic success," said Tim Hofferth, Villanova's director of athletics.

Sports sponsorship: The Big East Conference has announced it will sponsor women's lacrosse as a championship sport beginning with the 2000-01 academic season. Conference schools sponsoring the sport are Boston College; the University of Connecticut; Georgetown University; the University of Notre Dame; Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick; Syracuse University; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Milestones: Mike Jarvis, St. John's University (New York), 300 wins in men's basketball. Jarvis reached the milestone with a 79-64 win over the University of Connecticut February 21. Also, the Red Storm's previous game, a 76-75 win over Syracuse University, was the school's 1,600th all-time, making it the fifth school to reach that mark. Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Duke are the others ... L. Vann Pettaway, men's basketball coach at Alabama A&M University, also reached the 300-win plateau with a 102-85 decision over Prairie View A&M University January 22 ... Craig Dahl, men's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University, won his 300th game with a 4-3 win over Denver University February 19. Dahl is in his 18th season as a college coach, the last 12 at St. Cloud State.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown